The Putnam County Board of Commissioners and the Eatonton City Council passed resolutions yesterday that prohibit certain activities and businesses from operating. 

These resolutions were passed unanimously by all commissioners and council members.  I most sincerely ask you to abide with the provisions of the resolutions, as they were promulgated with the safety of our people in mind.  I would further ask you to abide by them as we were short staffed before the crisis and we need to concentrate our enforcement actions on other more serious matters.  

The significant text of the resolutions, both the city and county resolutions mirror each other, are as follows: 

1.     That, all public or private community gatherings of more  than ten (10) people anywhere within Putnam County, Georgia are prohibited for the duration of the declared state of local emergency. A community gathering is defined as any indoor or outdoor event or convening, subject to the exceptions below, that brings together or is likely to bring together ten (10) or more persons at the same time in a single room or other single confined or enclosed space, such as an auditorium, stadium (indoor or outdoor), tent arena or event center, music venue, meeting, hall, conference center, large cafeteria, or any other confined indoor and outdoor space.  A community gathering does not include the following or similar uses, so long as persons attending the community gathering are generally not within six (6) feet of each other for extended periods: (1) office or manufacturing space, child-care facilities, residential buildings or any type of temporary sheltering or housing; (2) grocery stores or pharmacies; and (3) hospital or medical facilities.

2.   Notwithstanding the previous paragraph, the following  business-use categories will be regulated as follows: (1) restaurants open to the public shall close except to provide take out, drive-through, or curbside service to include alcoholic beverages in sealed containers which they are otherwise licensed to dispense; (2) all business locations with on-premises consumption of alcoholic beverage licenses which are not also restaurants shall be closed for business; (3) all establishments providing body care services which require close physical contact between the provider and client such as barbering, hair design, cosmetology, esthetics, massage therapy (except for medically licensed physical therapy), tattooing or nail care shall be closed for business; (4) all indoor recreation facilities, to include gyms, health studios, indoor amusement facilities, pool halls and theatres shall be closed for business; and (5) all other retail sales establishments (including grocery stores or pharmacies addressed above) will be permitted to remain open.

3.    Cafeterias in hospitals, nursing homes, or similar facilities shall not be subject to these restrictions and may continue normal operations.

These emergency ordinances shall become effective beginning on March 25, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. and shall remain in effect until April 6, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. unless further extended by further action of the Board and is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against Putnam County, Georgia, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.